


Phoenix Rising: The Red War

by 5eedless, JuanTheHedgehog, Zexeos



Series: Phoenix Rising [1]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Multi, Romance, collaborative, follows the main plot, fuck the lore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-03 21:20:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17291654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/5eedless/pseuds/5eedless, https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuanTheHedgehog/pseuds/JuanTheHedgehog, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zexeos/pseuds/Zexeos
Summary: From ashes, we rise. The Light is gone; it's been stolen by the villainous Ghaul and his Cabal army. When all hope is lost, 5 guardians find their way back to the light. Now it's up to the newly-christened Phoenix Squadron to rise up and defeat the Cabal invasion, even if it means paying the ultimate price. Will this rag-tag group of misfits stop the invasion? Or will they fall to the ashes?





	1. The Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> This is a collaborative fanfiction starring the work of myself (Zexeos), 5eedless, Ridire (Not an Ao3 member yet), CrazGanon (Not an Ao3 member yet), SirKibbler (Not an Ao3 member yet). You can find more details about this project on my tumblr, http://kelly-writes-things.tumblr.com . This chapter was written entirely by Zexeos. :D

“Do not look at me,  _ creature. _ ” The raspy voice filled Cass’ ears, so powerful that it made her head ache - or maybe that was the absolute beating she had taken at his hands. Blood trickled from her busted lip and nose, from where her face smashed against the inside of her helmet, and her ghost, Simon, was in a scraped up heap underneath her. She had to protect him no matter what, she had to. If he died, so would she. But it wasn’t about self preservation at this point. 

 

The Light was gone.

 

She could feel its absence like a gaping hole in her heart - the loss of a mother’s warmth, the embrace of a loved one gone. She was cold.

 

“You are weak, undisciplined, cowering behind walls.” The kick from his massive foot was unexpected, and it knocked the wind out of her. It all came in flashes - in the air, weightlessness, and then the cold, unforgiving cement. 

 

“F-fuck you.” Cass spat out as she looked up, seeing two images of her massive Cabal assailant, clad in white armor like he was some kind of purity. What a sham.

  
“You’re not brave; you’ve merely forgotten the fear of death. Allow me to reacquaint you.” The next hit sent Cass rolling, but her own wellbeing didn’t matter.

 

_ Simon. _

 

The ghost in question slid across the cement of the landing pad, and into the abyss below. 

 

The scream the erupted from her throat was terrible, a sharp stinging cry as she saw her best friend fade into the nothingness below. “Simon!” Cass screeched, tears pricking at her eyes. But she would not let them fall - it was a time for strength. Simon would have wanted her to be strong. 

 

With a feral snarl, Cass whipped her helmeted head around, looking at the monstrous Cabal in front of her. “Rat bastard!” She snapped, reaching for her hand canon, but finding nothing in the holster. She didn’t have time to figure out where it went - it was go time. 

 

“Your kind never deserved the power you were given. I am Ghaul, and your light…. Is  _ mine. _ ” Ghaul’s voice dripped like poison from his masked mouth, chilling Cassandra to the bone. She looked up at him behind her skull-printed helmet, her eyes blazing with defiance. 

 

_ Cowardly, undisciplined, weak…  _  His words rang in her ears as he approached her, his footsteps thumping loudly and filling the air.  _ I will prove you wrong,  _ Cass decided.  _ Even if it kills me. _

 

The kick to her face made her vision explode into black and white flashes, and she felt the cement slip away as she fell into the emptiness behind her, plummeting towards the ground below.  

 

_ And it just might. _

  
  
  


“ _ Cass, it’s time to wake up. You’re going to be late for breakfast.”  _

 

Reality came to Cassandra Kiddik in pieces. The first thing she recognized Simon’s voice, but her vision was too blurry to make anything out as she opened her eyes. Her hips were well supported - she had her leg hiked over her large body pillow. A pang of disappointment filled her as the vision of the sexy exo whom she was cuddling in her dream faded into the soft whiteness of the pillow. 

 

_ Fuckin’ Simon,  _ she thought as she wiped her eyes with a audible groan. “Alright, I’m up…” she practically wheezed as she rolled off of her pillow, and hit the unforgiving ground with a hard thud.

 

“Fuck!” She hissed as Simon floated towards her.

 

“ _ You alright?”  _ He asked, concern in his robotic voice. Cass rubbed her face with her hands and groaned again.

 

“You would think I would learn that the bed fuckin’ ends by now.”

 

“ _ You? Learn something? Oh my Light, the world must be ending,”  _ Simon retorted, causing Cass to make a rude gesture towards the blue and orange ghost. 

 

Cass let out a snort as she slowly got to her feet, rubbing her elbow that bounced off the ground when she fell.  _ That’s going to be a bruise later… _ she mentally noted before gently stretching her body. 

 

A knock at her door interrupted her stretches, and she let out an irritated huff.

 

“Door’s open,” Cass called as she quickly picked up a blue jacket that was laying on the floor. She managed to throw it on right as the white door to her room opened, revealing a familiar figure on the other side. A blue exo with a grey horn, and an ego that could fill a room. Cayde-6. 

 

“If you don’t get down to breakfast in 5 seconds, I’m eating all of your eggs.” He said with his arms crossed. Unlike Cass, who was in pajamas, he was dressed in dark brown and black leathers, with a black and red hunter cloak. Before Cass could respond, Cayde darted down the hallway with that trademark hunter speed, leaving Cass standing there like an idiot as she process what had happened.

 

“Son of a bitch!” She roared as she finally figured out what was going on, and sprinted out of her room, leaving the door wide open behind her, and rushed down the hallway after Cayde. 

 

The scenery of the Tower flashed by as they ran, with Cass only seeing flashes of other Guardians as they emerged from their rooms in the morning. Running down the stairs was the hard part, at least it was for Cass. Cayde practically flew down them, using his enhanced hunter speed and jumping ability to descend quickly. 

 

_ “Cass, slow down!”  _ Simon materialized behind Cass as she went down the stairs at a dangerous pace, stepping as quickly as she could.  _ “You’re going to hurt yourself!”  _

 

“But breakfast!” Cass protested as she reached the 15th floor of the tower - the main recreation floor. This is where the mess hall was, as well as a commons for guardians to relax and socialize.  Simon struggled to stay behind Cass as she practically smashed through the double doors exiting the stairwell, hot on Cayde’s trail. 

 

As she ran through the commons, she caught a glimpse of Cayde’s cloak flutter around a corner. She was close to catching him. She sprinted past several guardians, and rounded the corner quickly, her socks making her slide a bit on the smooth tiles of the floor. Catching her balance quickly, Cass sprinted off down the hall, passing a familiar figure.

 

“Be careful, you two.” Ikora Rey, the Vanguard for the warlocks, didn’t even look up from her datapad as Cass sprinted by. 

 

“No promises!” Cass called back to her as she made her way down the hallway. She saw Cayde at the end of the hallway, standing with a smug stance and twirling  _ Ace of Spades,  _ his hand canon, confidently. Cass slowed down as she approached him, panting from the exertion of sprinting for so long. 

 

“Another win for the legend himself,” Cayde said with his best attempt at a grin on his stoic exo face. “I know you bulky titans have trouble with the whole ‘speed’ thing, so I’ll give you a handicap next time. Maybe then you can come close to beating me.” He looked at Cass and holstered his weapon. She rolled her eyes and came to a stop.

 

“Sod off. Next time, you’re going down,” she replied as she crossed her arms as straightened out her back.

 

“Face it Cassie, titans will always be slower than hunters,” Cayde said in a matter-of-fact tone making Cass snort and slide past him, pushing open the double doors he was standing in front of.

 

The noise from the mess hall hit Cass like a wall as she opened the doors. The large room was filled with guardians, as they sat and ate, chatting with one another excitedly about the day ahead. The scene reminded Cass of a school, with a buffet bar at the end of the room that guardians were clustered around, and tables separated into different friend groups. She entered the room with Cayde right behind her, and the pair made their way over to the bar.

 

“Maybe so, but I will beat you one of these days,” Cass declared as she grabbed a plate from the end of the bar and passed it to Cayde. She then picked up one for herself.

 

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Cayde said with his traditional cocky attitude. As they were waiting in line, Cass scanned the room, looking for any open seats and familiar faces. She didn’t see any immediately, before turning her attention to the food. 

 

Guardians, especially titans, were notorious for their monstrous appetites. May the Traveler have mercy on your soul if you got between a guardian and their food. Breakfast foods of all kinds were spread out on a heated buffet, in all of its beauty. Cass could feel her mouth watering as she grabbed an empty plate and began to pile on food. Cayde followed suit, and the two had full plates in seconds. 

 

“Kiddik! Cayde! Over here!” A familiar voice rang out above the noise of the crowd, drawing the duo’s attention. Raven Atura, an awoken hunter with short, messy black hair and silver eyes, stood at a table next to a feminine red exo with white facial markings.    
  
“Rae!” Cass greeted as her and Cayde made their way over to the nearby table that Raven was at. “Thanks for saving us seats.”    
  
“Yeah, for a second I thought I was going to have to sit at the cool kids table,” Cayde said as all four of them sat down. Raven simply stuck out her tongue at her vanguard, causing the group to laugh.

 

“Cayde, we all know you don’t qualify for that table,” the exo, Phena-14 retorted as she squinted her eyes a bit at him, her best attempt at a smile on her exo face. 

 

“I thought we were the cool kids,” Cass said before taking a bite of toast. Raven wrinkled her nose.

 

“Oh yeah, us, the cool kids. A jock, a nerd, a goth, and a clown. We’re quite the cool group,” she replied dryly.

 

“Can I be the goth?” Cayde asked, causing a few more chuckles from the group as they ate their breakfasts. The food was delicious, and they ate as much of it as they could fit into their mouths. After a few moments of idle chatter and chewing, Cayde sat up with a start suddenly as his ghost, Sundance, merged back into the physical realm.   
  
“Cayde, I just got a message from Big Blue. He needs you up at the tower. Something about… Sat feeds?” She spoke in a high voice, floating around and spinning her spines as she spoke. 

 

Cayde threw his head back and let out a playfully exasperated groan. “Vanguard business, huh? I’ll be up there in a sec.” He dismissed the guy with a wave of his hand, and looked to Cass. 

 

“Duty calls, Cassie.” He looked to Phena and Raven. “I’ll see you ladies later.” He got up off of the long bench that they were sitting on, and stood up with a slight grunt. Sundance faded into engram again, and Cayde set off towards the entrance of the mess hall. Cass gave him a gentle wave, unable to speak with a mouth full of eggs.

 

“Girl, don’t even start with that ‘I don’t like him’ shit.” Raven said with a waggle of her thin eyebrows, making Cass nearly choke.

 

Slamming her fist down on the table and gasping for air as she struggled to get down her bite of eggs, Cass finally spoke between coughs. “Fuck… off…” she wheezed, causing Phena and Raven to chuckle.

 

“‘Oooo,  _ Cassie,’”  _ Phena mimicked Cayde’s voice as best as she could with a higher audio synthesizer. “He’s got it bad for you too- just ask him out already!” She squinted her eyes a bit, a gesture of smiling wide from an exo. 

 

“Are you kidding me? I’d die first.” Cass shook her head and looked down at her empty plate. “Besides, I think you’re just imagining things. We’re friends - he’s not into me like that.”

 

“What makes you say that?” Phena asked, tilting her head a bit.

 

“Yeah, what gives? You’re a catch,” Raven said.

 

Cass waved her hand dismissively. “I wouldn’t say that. I mean, he could have any girl in this whole tower, why pick my buff ass?” She stood up from her seat and grabbed her plate. “I’ve got to go. I’m late for my gym session anyway. Today’s activity is swimming and I don’t want to miss it.” She gave her friends a quick wave before walking off towards the receptacle for dirty plates. 

 

And then the wall exploded.


	2. Quill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written entirely by 5eedless.

Quill was running. He was running faster than he had ever run in his life, faster than he ever thought he could. He had to get away. For the first time since his rebirth, he had to get  _ away _ from something. The old rules didn’t make sense anymore; he couldn’t soar through the air, throw explosive firebombs … he couldn’t even heal anyone. And if they caught him, he wouldn’t get a second chance. If he died, it would be for the last time.

 

How could he have let this happen? How could  _ any _ of them have let this happen!? They were all there, all the Guardians, all the citizens of the City were  _ there _ and it wasn’t enough. The Traveler had been taken, the Light was gone … Quill’s fireteam was …

 

Micheal. He was their Titan; the wall between Quill and their enemies. He was a little rough in a sparring match; often said that he ‘didn’t know  _ how _ to take it easy on someone,’ but he was gentle and kind. Reliable. A true friend. He’d been swarmed by Cabal just as the Light was taken and … he fell. Fell off the tower. His last moments had been spent with rushing wind shattering all the bones in his body before the hard earth did the rest of the job.

 

And Solana, their Hunter … she was rough in personality and in combat. At least, at first. She didn’t really like talking to people, wanted never to make connections. She was too afraid that those connections would end up hurting her in the end. But Quill had managed to break through her shell, and underneath he had seen a woman whose loyalty was rivaled by none. She would never abandon her comrades, and so Quill would never abandon her. But all that did was give him a front-row seat to a Cabal stabbing her through the chest from behind, before tossing her bloodied corpse to the floor at Quill’s feet.

 

Quill’s tears fell on ground that was several feet behind him as he kept running. No matter what, he couldn’t stop. If he took a moment to breathe, the enemy could be right on top of him, ready to dispose of him like they did the rest of his Fireteam. For the first time in Quill’s life, he feared death. His own death. He already knew the pain of loss … he couldn’t bare to think of how it felt to hurt someone else like that.

 

“You have to stop!” A voice called frantically in Quill’s ears. “You can’t keep pushing yourself like this - please, Quill, sit down and rest!”

 

But he couldn’t rest. If he stopped to rest, they could catch up to him. If they caught up to him, he would die. If he died … he didn’t know what would happen if he died.

 

“We’re already  _ miles _ from the City - we’re deep in the forest, there are plenty of places we can stop and hide so you can catch your breath!”

 

Hiding wouldn’t work. Other Guardians tried to hide. Quill had seen them. Their corpses strewn about camps and shelters, the mark of the Cabal burned into their flesh and bone …

 

“I know that you’re scared, but you can’t run forever - you have to stop and rest at some point, or you’ll be too exhausted to fight back if we  _ are _ found!”

 

Fight back? How? Quill was never a good combatant, and everyone knew it. He wasn’t as strong as a Titan, nor as fast as a Hunter, and his aim was frankly abysmal. Besides, what good was the little pistol he’d managed to scavenge against a fully-armored, fully-equipped, combat-ready Cabal soldier?

 

Without the Light, Quill wasn’t even a Warlock anymore. He was nothing. He could do nothing. Nothing but keep running.

 

“If you keep this up, you’re going to die!!”

 

Quill stopped. He turned to look at his Ghost. Her light pink sheen still glittered in the sunlight, even after the catastrophe they’d just witnessed. It was hard for many people to recognize when a Ghost was being expressive - particularly one like Quill’s, without any of the spokes common to most Ghosts - but Quill always knew what his was thinking. She was scared. Just as scared as he was. Scared of the exact same thing.

 

“Polka …”   
  
For the first time in what seemed like hours, Quill managed to speak. He gently guided his Ghost to his chest, his hands shaking, his breath coming out in rasps and pants. He wasn’t shaking nearly as bad as she was, however. Quill had been so terrified of losing his own life that he hadn’t thought of how Polka would feel with him gone … how she’d feel just as he had losing his Fireteam.

 

“I’m sorry, Polka … I-I wasn’t thinking. Please, where should we stop to rest for the night?”

 

Polka’s shivering soon subsided, and she rose from Quill’s chest with a smooth sadness that he had never seen from her before. In fact, he had never seen his Ghost sad at all. Worried, yes, she was often very worried about him and his friends, but never … ever sad.

 

Polka guided Quill to a small cave that was dark, dank, but well-hidden and safe. She gave him enough light to settle down and find a spot that somewhat resembled how it felt to be comfortable. Quill hadn’t even realized just how tired he was. If Polka hadn’t stopped him, he might actually have kept running until his feet bled. With thoughts of gratitude for the one living creature in the world still with him, Quill was finally able to drift into a deep, peaceful sleep.

 

But in this sleep, Quill had a dream. He dreamt of a white, shimmering falcon with a flowing tail leading him to a chasm. In this chasm stood something tall and impossible, something foreboding and terrible. The road to it all was long, winding, and with many dangers, but at the end of it, at the bottom of this chasm lay a glimmer … of hope.

 

Quill woke up the next morning with a jolt, the bright orange of his irises burning through the black sclera in his eyes. His awakening was sudden enough to cause Polka to squeal, before zooming over to look at him.

 

“Is everything okay? Are you hurt!? Was I too late!?” Polka scanned through every corner of Quill’s body, trying to find a wound or bruise or broken nail. Quill would have thought her close examination of his bluish-gray form was both cute and sad at the same time, if his head wasn’t currently filled with images of the white Shard.

 

Quill stopped Polka and shook his head. “I’m fine, but we have to go! I saw something …”

 

Polka stopped and stared into Quill’s eyes. The connection between a Ghost and a Guardian is something that neither can truly understand … but in that moment, Quill didn’t need to explain anything to Polka. Polka knew exactly what he’d seen.

 

Polka faded out of the physical world to rejoin Quill’s consciousness as the latter stood up. His robes, tattered and muddied by the past few days’ events, fluttered slightly as he pulled out his small, battered pistol. As the duo stepped out into the woods once more, the sunlight catching Quill’s fiery orange hair, they held a conviction one can only gain from the loss of someone they love … and the determination not to lose anyone else again.

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that JuanTheHedgehog is no longer on the project. I just can't remove them as a co-author.


End file.
